Evaluation of acetic acid/ethanol fixative in blood-containing cytological specimens

Cytological examination of direct smear slides for body cavity fluid or fine-needle aspiration (FNA) specimens is often complicated by the presence of contaminated erythrocytes on the cells of interest. Acetic acid/ethanol fixing solution is applied to FNA cytodiagnosis and intraoperative rapid cytodiagnosis because it reduces background staining caused by red blood cells more than that of usual ethanol fixing. Evaluated the effects of the acetic/ethanol fixing solution on various blood-containing samples and confirmed the advantages of acetic acid/ethanol fixation over usual ethanol fixation.